Posts in Category: Autism

Financier, philanthropist, charitable foundation director and entrepreneur Sanjay Ray recently gave an interview concerning his work in founding the charitable foundation Autism Rocks. The talk was given on the Entrepreneurial Podcast Network’s Enterprise Radio show, hosted by Eric Dye. In the talk, Ray stressed the importance for business founders to have a clear vision of their goals, while also paying attention to the practical aspects of founding a business. Two of the most important aspects, practically speaking, are being clear about how much money is really needed to get an enterprise off the ground, and knowing that you can’t do it all yourself.

A Great Passion For Work

Sanjay Ray knows where he is coming from, business-wise. His London based brokerage firm, Solo Capital, was founded by Ray based on his years of accounting and business creation experience. More recently he began a charitable organization called Autism Rocks, which creates rock music events that raise money for research on the neurological disorder.

Ray started the charity in 2014 after his young son, Nikhil, was diagnosed with the illness. Ray was deeply affected by his son’s condition, and saw that more work was needed to help patients to deal with the disease. He used his feelings for his son to help inspire himself to action, so he combined his passion for music with his knowledge of finance to help raise funds. The overall goal of Autism Rocks is to open the doors to more research and more understanding of the disorder, so that better treatment can be developed.

Austism Rocks’ most recent major rock music event was a major music festival in April of 2016. The event boasted major groups like Tyga and Flo Rida as performers. For more information about Autism Rocks and its upcoming shows, go to the website at www.autism.rocks.

The past few years various charity projects have benefitted greatly due to the popular Go Fund Me organization/website. Known as a crowdfunding site it raises money for every type of need ranging from assistance in paying for medical expenses to animal care. One individual who recently helped to spread the word regarding funding for Autism research is hedge fund manager Sanjay Shah. Because he is a parent of a child affected by this condition and eager for research, an idea beckoned him that would help fund the need for continued Autism research. Shah who is a music aficionado thought that a great way to raise awareness and funding for Autism would be to stage concerts worldwide, which gave birth to his Go Fund Me campaign for his Autism Rocks. His idea became a reality in 2014 when performers such as Lenny Kravitz and Michael Bublè participated in the private performances, with Autism Rocks as the featured charity.

For a time span of about 20 years, Shah was employed by Morgan Stanley as a banker, the Switzerland based Credit Suisse and Rabobank. A 2008 spell of unemployed motivated him to break out on his own to create his own trading, brokerage and investment management company. Using his wise investment knowledge, Shah leased office space, hired traders and considered giving the business about one year. Since establishing Solo Capital, his business has soared. Instead of employing a few individuals it now provides jobs for 100-plus and has now opened offices in Dubai and London.

Growing up in the upscale neighborhood of Marylebone, located in Central London, Sanjay Shah became eager to assist various Autism organizations just a few years ago. In 2011 he donated greatly needed vehicles to the Dubai Autism Centre. This led to his establishing Autism Rocks which also funds the Autism Research Centre and the Autism Research Trust. Shah is still fueled with a passion for music, so he loves his time spent on staging the concerts for his Go Fund Me cause.